Dear Heloise: My husband was hammering a nail to hang a picture in our home and hit his thumb. It was hard enough (and painful enough) to cause his nail to turn black. He finally got out a small wrench to hold the nail in place while he hammered it in. No more hammering his thumb! — Christine P., Hillsboro, Oregon

Christine, that’s a good idea, and here is another item you can use to hold a nail: It’s a clothespin! It will hold the nail securely while you hammer it in. — Heloise

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SCUFF MARKS

Dear Heloise: I kept getting scuff marks on the linoleum floors in my kitchen and on the tile floors in my bathrooms. I finally figured out that it was from my husband’s work shoes. I’d get on my hands and knees and scrub away at the marks, but I never managed to get the long, black marks off the floor.

Finally, my sister-in-law said she had read in your column a while back that using a clean tennis ball and a little elbow grease would remove the scuff marks. Sure enough, it worked! Thanks, Heloise! — Martha B., Bridgeport, West Virginia

Martha, it’s always nice to hear from a happy reader. Thank you for writing! — Heloise

WATER MARKS

Dear Heloise: We had an upstairs leak in the master bathroom that left us with a water stain on the ceiling. It’s not terribly noticeable, but I know it’s there. (And it’s annoying.) It makes my dining room look shabby to me. How can I get rid of the water stain without repainting the whole ceiling? We just had that done two weeks before the leak happened! — Ashley S., Poughkeepsie, New York

Ashley, here is a solution you might like to try: Mix 1 cup bleach with 3 cups warm water and stir well. Then dip a sponge into the solution and wring out the excess so that the sponge is wet but not soaked completely. Gently apply this only to the area that is affected by the water stain. Do not oversaturate it. — Heloise

STICKY COOKIE SHEETS

Dear Readers: To prevent a tough cleaning from messy cookie sheets or baking pans, take these steps. Either line the cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper, or use an oil-based spray. There will be much less cleaning to do after baking. — Heloise